Rivers State Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro Felix Obuah (left), addressing a cross section of APC decampees in Egbema in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of the state, recently.
In a sustained effort to rid Rivers State of all forms of criminality and crime, the State Police Command has paraded 23 suspects arrested in different locations across the state for various criminal activities.
This is even as the state police command has arrested and detained a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and an Inspector, in connection with the ritual murder of eight-year-old Chikamso Victory in Port Harcourt.
Among the suspects arrested and paraded by the police include one Roland Peter, a member of the notorious kidnapping gang from Edoha in Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state, who allegedly kidnapped and killed Pastor Samuel Okpara on August 15, 2017, and used his liver, intestine as well as other private parts to cook plantain pepper soup.
The state Commissioner of Police, Zaki Mohammed Ahmed disclosed this during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters in Port Harcourt, last Monday.
Zaki added that the police got tip off that the kidnap gang led by one Justus popularly called High Tension from Abarikpo in Ahoada East Local Government Area was in possession of various riffles and other weapons.
The police commissioner further disclosed that operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), in a convert operation, arrested a four-man gang, who allegedly robbed the manager of an old generation bank of her Toyota Corolla.
He stated that the four suspects had connived with her gateman and two of her drivers to snatch the vehicle, which according to him, had been recovered from Lagos State.
The state police boss while giving a breakdown of the command’s achievements, disclosed that five suspected cultists, seven alleged kidnappers and 13 armed robbery suspects were arrested while 13 kidnap victims were rescued.
The CP insisted that five robbery incidents were also foiled by operatives of the command.
He averred that 25 riffles, including three AK-47 riffles, one locally-made pistol, five Pump Action guns, one single barrel gun, 65 cartridges, 156 live ammunition, four magazines and nine vehicles were also recovered during the recent onslaught against criminality and crime in the state.
He, however, said that the event of 19th August, 2017, in which a suspected ritualist, Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike, a 200-level student of University of Port Harcourt murdered and disremembered one Miss Victory Chikamso Mesu for alleged ritual purposes and also escaped from police custody had left a sour taste and created doubt in the command’s avowed fight against crime and criminality.
“I am totally committed in seeing that the suspect is re-arrested and any person involved, regardless of status in aiding the escape of the suspect, will be arrested, and if found culpable, will be dealt with according to the law.
“Consequently, in pursuit of this resolve, one ex-sergeant Johnbosco Okoroeze, who after thorough investigation was discovered to have carried out a pre-meditated action in aiding the escape of the suspect, has been charged to court.
“The said ex-sergeant was tried in a Police Orderly Room for which evidence tendered during the trial revealed that he unilaterally, in a pre-meditated action, released the suspect to run away before raising false alarm of his escape.
“He was accordingly dismissed from the force and charged to court for accessory after the fact to murder, perverting the course of justice and permitting the escape of a murder suspect”, Zaki stated.
He used the opportunity to call for the end of blame game in the matter while asking interested persons in the case to come with a resolve to help the police in seeing that the suspect was re-arrested and brought to face the full wrath of the law.
The police commissioner said that a handsome reward of N1million has already been pledged by the command, even as he said, a second suspect in the crime had also been arrested.
Similarly, a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Rivers State (names withheld) has been arrested on the orders of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zaki Mohammed Ahmed, in connection with the escape of the suspected ritualist and rapist, Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike, from police detention.
It would be recalled that Dike was arrested by Okporo Police Station in Port Harcourt while he was trying to dispose of the dismembered body of his eight-year old female relative, Miss Victory Chikamso Mesu, whom he raped and later killed for ritual purposes.
Also, a Police Inspector (names withheld) who led the team of policemen that brought the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Port Harcourt, where he was handed over to the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), former Sergeant Johnbosco Okoroeze, has also been arrested.
Okoroeze, who has already been dismissed from the police, was last Friday, arraigned and remanded in prison custody by a Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly aiding the escape of Dike.
A source at the SCID headquarters in Port Harcourt told newsmen that the DPO and an Inspector were arrested following revelations that they had prior knowledge of what had happened before the escape of the suspect.
The source said, “The father of the victim was uncomfortable when the police team stopped on the road for the Inspector to answer a call. It was later found out that it was the DPO who called him to expect a call from an IPO, who will be in charge of the case.
“When the Inspector’s phone was checked, there was a call from one Johnbosco, who was the IPO and by the rules of the force, a DPO cannot assign an IPO to a matter that is no longer under him. So, the DPO and Inspector were invited and arrested,” the source added.
Amarachi Anene
No comments:
Post a Comment